Author's Note: Welcome to A Game of Winter! This is the third in my Game of Trust series. (Order: A Game of Trust, A Game of Enemies, A Game of Winter). I also have a collection of shorts that fills in the time between A Game of Enemies and this story called Agent Tolvar. It continues a plot I started in A Game of Enemies and also includes some one-shots. It is still in progress, so you'll see some hints in this story that we haven't quite gotten to in that story. I will continue filling it in, but it's a slower work in progress.

Sorry for such along wait. I wanted to have this done and posted by late December, but it was slow going. And I thought I should probably focus on my other stories that I've been neglecting ever since I saw The Winter Soldier last April... Thanks Steve. I'm am getting so psyched for Age of Ultron! Every time I go on tumblr I see so many exciting things and that new trailer was incredible. I can't believe it's two months away and that this time last year I still wasn't into Marvel. What was my life like before that? Empty? Sad? Something like that.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the beginning of A Game of Winter! I just finished part one tonight, so I think I'll post a little slower than I usually do so we don't catch up too fast. I've been working on editing a book I wrote, so I'm trying to divide my time between books and fan fictions. And reading too obviously. My stack of library books isn't going to read itself! Thank you so much for all of your support throughout this series. A Game of Trust has over 150 favorites which is so incredible. I can't even believe that many people have enjoyed reading it. You guys are the best.


Part One: Losing Control

Prologue – November 25, 2013

There was something so utterly satisfying about achieving one's goal especially when that goal had been unreachable for an entire lifetime. Several lifetimes if you were counting in mortal years. But for him it had been much longer.

He ran his fingers along the arm of the throne aware that his father would do no such thing, but wanting to all the same. He had waited so long for this moment, worked so hard to earn the right to sit here. So perhaps in the end he had not earned the right, but it was his even still. The best part of all of this was that his meddlesome brother was not here to stop him. Thor had no idea that his half-brother Loki had taken over the throne in Odin's place, taking his form to keep up appearances. Thor was off fighting battles for Midgard with his mismatched band of what the mortals liked to call 'heroes.' Earth's Mightiest Heroes, some even said. That was enough to make him laugh. His distain for the Avengers had not faded since New York. There was only one part of Midgard that did not make him cringe, and she was just as far out of his reach as the throne of Asgard had once been.

Loki had never expected to see her again but then she had come tumbling into his world, asking for his help, offering her friendship…and he hadn't been able to resist. What had surprised him most was that she did not hate him after all he had done to her world, all he had done to her. He had betrayed her, toyed with her emotions, hurt her friends, and wreaked havoc on her city, and yet she still looked upon him like someone who could be saved. Now as he sat upon the throne he felt a twinge of guilt. He knew she'd never support the way he had taken over the Asgardian Throne, but he felt the sudden desire to prove to her that he could be a benevolent king. Surely he was much more desirable than a soldier out of time. The moment that thought crossed his mind, he shook it away. Aspen would never think that way. He wasn't sure he wanted her to. He wasn't sure of anything where she was concerned, but playing king wearing someone else's face could be lonely and tiresome. He wished he had someone to confide in. So far he had not trusted anyone with his secret.

Besides growing lonely, Loki had grown bored under the guise of Odin. To keep up the act, Loki was forced to handle matters in the same slow, calm manner Odin had always done. He had seen no action and done nothing significant. He'd be the last to admit it, but he'd actually enjoyed joining Thor on his mission to take down the Dark Elves and save Thor's beloved mortal. Of course in the end it had led to his freedom. Everyone thought he was dead and though that might be cause for sorrow, he celebrated in this new freedom.

Now as the last rays of blood-washed sun faded, setting the city aglow in brilliant gold, Loki rose from the throne. His guards instantly fell into formation, shadowing him as he moved down the throne room hall. He let them follow until he reached a set of golden doors. Security had been tight since the Dark Elf attack even though Malekith was vanquished.

"Leave me," he requested. The guards turned and left him alone at the doors. As he shut the doors behind him, he shed his disguise and became Loki again, pale and raven-haired, icy blue eyes now filled with sorrow. To the guards, he was simply Odin coming to visit his dead wife's chambers, but in reality it was Loki come to visit a place that reminded him of his mother. Much as Loki tried to deny that he felt sentiment, he had always loved his mother. And yet he had not seen her before she died, had not been there to protect her.

Loki moved to the window where he could look down upon the city. He had grown up in this beautiful city believing that he might one day rule it only to find out that his true throne was somewhere cold and dark, a place of monsters and nightmares. Though he was a frost giant by birth, Loki had never wanted to be such a thing. It had become an excuse for him to bring out the deepest, darkest parts of himself and throw them at the world like weapons. Only Aspen had seen through his guise when sometimes even he could not. She had always seen the parts of him he tried to hide, the parts of him he thought weak. Those were the parts she thought were strong and good. But those were also the parts of him that had lived in the shadow of his brother and believed Odin's lies. They'd gotten him nowhere. Aspen was the one person who could bring out that other side of him that he didn't want to show. Aspen whom he could very easily never see again. She was mortal, she would live a second compared to his lifetime. She would never bring out that weakness in him again.

But the thought of living the rest of his life without ever seeing her again was suddenly a thought he did not want to contemplate. He knew Frigga would have liked Aspen. Her fire and passion, her desire to do what was right no matter what the cost to herself. He knew without a doubt that Aspen would sacrifice herself for someone the way Frigga had without a second thought. Loki would never see his mother again unless Valhalla somehow let him in when his long years were spent, but he could see Aspen again. Did he want to though? The answer was both yes and no. Yes, he wanted to see her again because he could never completely rid himself of the thought of her and no, because he knew he was succumbing to a weakness if he did.

He swallowed hard, realizing that he was about to give in to the sentimental side of himself that always tried so hard to suppress. With a sigh he resumed his disguise as Odin and left his mother's chamber. The guards were waiting down the hall and took their place behind him as he went to his own chambers. One of Odin's crows flapped its wings from the bedpost as he entered, giving Loki a scrutinizing look. Loki had always hated the birds and thought that there was a small chance they could see straight through his guise. As he shut the doors, leaving the guards outside, he shooed the bird out the window, locking the glass panes behind him. Night had fallen outside, and he shed his disguise with no fear of anyone seeing him. He sat near the window and watched as the stars began to appear, dotting the heavens like the lanterns the Asgardians released at funerals. He had taken to spending as much time outside or near a window as he could ever since he'd taken over the throne. After the time he'd spent locked away with no windows, without having seen the sky for so long that he'd stopped counting the days, he needed to be reminded that it still existed out there. He had felt so stifled like he couldn't breathe even though the air in the dungeons was perfectly breathable. When Aspen had freed him and he'd seen the sky for the first time in months, he had hardly been able to take his eyes off of it. After he'd given Aspen a chance to escape, he knew he wouldn't see the sky again perhaps forever. Odin had not responded well to Loki's escape and had proclaimed that the girl he was with would be arrested on sight if she ever returned to Asgard. Loki had learned through the guards that the Warlock's Eye, the powerful instrument he had helped Aspen steal from Odin's Vault had mysteriously reappeared near the statue where Aspen had found the portal. Whether she had thrown it back in was unclear. A bloody trail led away from where the Eye lay, but no one was found and the trail ended. The portal itself had closed. Loki had reasoned with himself that he wanted to visit Aspen to make sure she was all right. When she had left Asgard, she had been dying due to something a power-hungry mortal had injected her with. Of course that had been a year and a half since this had happened. He had no way of knowing Aspen had survived, but he was willing to bet she had. She was too stubborn to die, and she did have that soldier to look after her. The thought of him left Loki feeling bitter. He wasn't sure what Aspen saw in that righteous, too good super soldier. Sure he supposed some might like that sort of thing, but he had seen the side of Aspen that craved something a little darker. It was only a matter of time before she realized he couldn't give her what she really wanted.

As Loki leaned his head back against the wall, an image sprung unbidden into his mind. He sat upon the Asgard throne as himself and not Odin. Aspen sat at his side, swathed in Asgardian cloth, green eyes sharp and beautiful. She met his gaze and smiled. Loki shook the thought from his head as quickly as it had come. Aspen would never agree to such a thing. She'd told him before she didn't want power, didn't want to rule, and she certainly didn't want him. He wasn't ready to share his power, but he realized that the only person he could ever see sharing power with was her.